


Together in the Dark

by thedisneyfanboy



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family, Magic, Multi, Some Fluff, Some angst, its light angst though i think, this is more of a ua than an au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-04-08 02:16:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19097719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedisneyfanboy/pseuds/thedisneyfanboy
Summary: Webby's quest to learn magic to bring Lena back from the Shadow Realm*Takes place in an au where the Three Caballeros help Donald raise the triplets





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I need you guys to understand I started this before Friendship Hates Magic came out

It had been weeks since the Shadow War. José hadn’t had a lot of time in the air after, his boss knew he was in the middle of the crossfire and gave all the attendants in the area some time off. He got to spend more time with kids which they all loved. He loved to use his party tricks to show off to the kids making him the “cool uncle”, which considering his competition made him pretty cool. 

But aside from all the fun he’d been having with the kids he’d noticed something strange had been going on with Webbigail. He only noticed it out of the corner of his eye but there was something shifting in her shadow, and he could feel the static fringe of magic coming from it. He assumed it had something to do with Magica or her friend Lena but he didn’t want to scare her off by asking too many questions. 

But he also didn’t want her to get hurt. So he finally decided to take matters into his own hands. He went to her bedroom door one afternoon and knocked, thankfully she was in there. “Oh! _Alô tio Zé _.”__

__“Webbigail I wanted to talk to you about something if that’s okay?” José sat down on a chair that was comically small for him as it was made for children who were about two feet shorter and at least a hundred pounds lighter._ _

__Webby nodded, “ _O que é isso _?”___ _

____José smiled, “You can speak English if you’d like I don’t think you’ll be able to answer all my questions in Portuguese.”_ _ _ _

____Webby blushed, “Oh right sorry.”_ _ _ _

____José shook his head, “No you’re doing wonderfully, I’m happy you want to learn my language, but this is a bigger conversation and I know more English than you know Portuguese. It’s about magic.”_ _ _ _

____“Magic?” Webby moved to the edge of her seat so that she was almost bill to beak with José, she spoke quietly as if anyone else heard them they’d be executed on the spot._ _ _ _

____“Yes, and you.” José leaned back into his seat so that he had a little more breathing room._ _ _ _

____“Is this a Harry Potter situation? Am I secretly magic and I get to go to magic boarding school?” Webby asked, clasping her hands together in excitement._ _ _ _

____“No, no it’s just—“ He didn’t want to phrase his words in a way that might make the girl uneasy but he didn’t want to give away too much too soon, “since the Shadow War I’ve noticed a presence around you.”_ _ _ _

____Webby ducked her head and blushed, “Well I’ve been having these dreams about Lena...”_ _ _ _

____“Menina that may just be puberty and I am not the person to have that conversation with you,” José said ready to get up and leave._ _ _ _

____Webby grabbed his arm, “Not that kind of dream. She’s telling me about a place called the shadow realm. Do you know anything about that Tio?”_ _ _ _

____José drew in a breath through his teeth. “Yes, I know a little. Webby, how is she still connected to you?”_ _ _ _

____“It might be this.” She held up her arm exposing the friendship bracelet she had made when Lena had still been around._ _ _ _

____“May I see it?” He reached over to slip it off her wrist, “I promise I will be careful.” Immediately after he took it into his hand he could feel the spark of magic. He allowed it to float in front of him as we examined it, “This would be it Webbigail. I can’t bring her back permanently right now that’s too much, but I’ll see what I can do.”_ _ _ _

____“Thank you Tio!” Webby bounced up and down on her toes, then embraced him in a hug._ _ _ _

____“Of course menina, anything for you kids. Could you get my umbrella it will make this easier,” José said._ _ _ _

____She nodded and bounced over to the other side of the room. All the kids knew to be careful around José’s umbrella because he used it for literal black magic and they could get hurt, but he also trusted Webby not to kill herself in the 5 steps it was from the other side of the room back over to where he stood. “Here you go.” She handed it carefully to him._ _ _ _

____“ _Obrigado _Webby.” He focused more on his spellwork than on his English, he knew it would take a lot out of him just to check to see if Lena was in the Shadow Realm, he had to devote one hundred percent attention to what he was doing.___ _ _ _

______Webby watched him carefully. She was interested in understanding what it was that José did exactly when he used his magic. She knew it was generally dangerous to use black magic, but she was always interested in learning. He had never done anything so intense in front of her or the boys before; his eyes were tinted black and there was a black and purple aura around him. If he wasn’t family she’d probably be terrified of him._ _ _ _ _ _

______She became concerned when he doubled over and everything about him became darker, “Tio Zé? Is-is everything okay?” She whimpered and backed into a corner._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Webby?” A girl’s voice came out of José’s mouth._ _ _ _ _ _

______“Lena?” Webby asked shocked, “How? Is that you?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Hey Webby,” she tried to ruffle Webby’s hair but her shadow form slipped through her. She shook her head and continued, “I can’t stay long, I can tell I’m taking a toll on him.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“I miss you…How can we help you?” Webby looked down at the ground fighting back tears._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I dunno Web, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out, you’re smart,” Lena said._ _ _ _ _ _

______Webby nodded, “Okay. I’ll see you soon.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“You too kid.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______The magic slowly dissipated from around José. He staggered back to the chair, “ _Meninia pegue seu tio Donal’_.”___ _ _ _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a general reminder but very little of this is what you'd call 'canon compliant' it's just me sitting at my laptop having fun thinking about ducks (and various other birds)

He passed out after all that. Webby felt tears in her eyes and ran out of the room towards Donald’s houseboat in the backyard. “Uncle Donald! Uncle Donald!” She was yelling before she even got to the door, and when she did get there she started pounding on the door.

He opened the door to Webby’s frantic screaming and a horrified look on her face, “Webby? What is it? What’s wrong? Are the boys okay?” 

“It-it-It’s Tio Zé...I-I didn’t mean to I swear…” after everything she had been through in such a short amount of time Webby finally broke down to tears. 

Donald let his parental instincts kick in and he picked Webby up and held her head to his chest. He carried her through the house assuming that whatever had happened happened in Webby’s room. He was right of course, and when he entered the sight of his husband lying passed out on the floor with dolls and matchbox cars around him was unsettling to say the least. Well, that and the mystic aura still surrounding him. 

Donald remembered their days in college together; when José would knock himself out trying to outdo his previous incantation, but he thought those days were long over. 

He leaned a hand over to try to feel his forehead but the magic that surrounded him shocked Donald before he could reach him. He sighed, “Webby can you tell me what happened?”

So she told him; emphasizing the fact that she didn’t want anyone to get hurt and it wasn’t her idea anyway. By the end of her story she was cuddled up even closer to Donald, burying herself in his feathers. “Are you mad at me?”

He looked down at her and kissed the top of her head, “Of course not. If I was mad at anyone it would be Tio Zé because he should know better than to do these things. But I’m not even mad at him; just worried about the both of you.”

Webby didn’t even look up. She just nodded and hugged Donald even tighter. 

They sat together for a while. Not saying anything. Finally though, Donald shifted, “Webby—“ she looked up at him, “go play with the boys and stay in their room tonight okay? I don’t know what’s going on and I want you all to be safe. I need to call Tío Panchi and we’ll make a plan for what to do. We’re gonna help Tio Zé, he’ll be fine I promise.”

She hugged Donald one last time. And started to run out the door before stopping next to José and whispering, “ _Eu sinto Muito Tio Zé_.”

Donald sighed as he watched her leave the room and sent a text to Panchito. 

**Emergency. Call when you get a chance.**

It was hardly five minutes later when his phone started ringing, and Donald picked up immediately. 

Panchito was clearly panicking on the other end of the line, “ _Donaldo, los niños_ —“

“Panchi the kids are fine don’t worry,” Donald said quickly to help ease some of Panchito’s worry, “It’s Zé. He used up a lot of magic. Now he’s sizzling and sick and passed out on Webigail’s floor.”

“ _Ay Dios Mio_ ,” Panchito sighed into the phone, “We head to Brazil first thing in the morning. Maybe his family can help us. If not someone’s bound to know right?”

“Are you sure you can get back in time Panchi?” Donald asked. 

“ _Sí_ , of course,” Panchito said, “It’s a family emergency.”

“Okay,” Donald said, then “I wish you were here.”

“Me too Donald.” Panchito said, “I’ll be there soon. Keep the kids safe while I’m gone.” 

“Of course Panchi, what do you expect from me,” Donald asked, chuckling a little.   
~~~  
The kids spent the night devising the best plan of how they were going to go to Brazil with the other adults. They decided the best course of action was to pack everything they needed into their packs and sneak into the cargo hold, possibly in one of the boxes with a crowbar in case the box got shut on them. Louie planned to sneak some of their supplies on board ahead of time to save them the trouble of carrying it all in the morning. Huey set it up so that Launchpad wouldn’t question moving the box into the Sunchaser while they were in it. Dewey and Webby made a map of the plan and a list of things they needed to do and how early they needed to get up in the morning. 

“We have to get up how early?” Louie asked, eyes nearly bugging out of his head.

Webby shook her head, “If they leave before we’re up there is no other way for us to get to Brazil. And even if we could make it to Rio we don’t know where we’d be able to find the Cariocas.”

The boys finally nodded in agreement, even if it meant they had to get up before sunrise.

The kids knew they were pushing it when they voluntarily and excitedly went to bed early. They were willing to risk suspicion however, if it meant they might get a few more hours in before having to get back up early the next day. They wanted to savor as much sleep as possible.

Donald, onto them, stared the kids down as he helped them set up the tent that he, Della, Gladstone, and Fethry spent more nights in together rather than out in their own beds. Many plans had been concocted in that tent. He suspected tonight would be no different. “What’re you four up to?”

“Nothing!” The boys said in unison.

Webby glared at them out of the corner of her eye, “It’s just been a long day. We’re really worried about Tio Zé.”

Donald kissed the tops of their heads, “He’s going to be fine. Tío Panchito and I are going to find some help in the morning.”

“Are you going to see the Cariocas?” Webby asked. 

“That’s where we’re starting,” Donald said, “but don’t worry about it. Tio José’s going to be just fine. I love you all; we’ll be gone by the time you get up. Be good for your Uncle Scrooge.”

“Of course Uncle Donald.” They got into their sleeping bags.  
~~~  
Panchito got home just after Donald put the kids to bed. “Is he still in Webbigail’s room?”

Donald nodded, “I can’t pick him up. Can you?”

Panchito nodded, “I should be able to, as long as his magic’s died down.” 

When they got to the room Panchito gasped, even though he knew what was coming. “Zé…” he picked him up bridal style. “What did you do?” 

José instinctively cuddled closer to Panchito’s chest. Moving so that his beak was nestled into Panchito’s chest feathers. Panchito smiled down at him. Then he turned to Donald, “Let’s go to bed.”  
~~~  
When they got up the next morning Donald peeked into the kids’ room and relaxed when he saw that the lights were off and the tent still set up and the shadows of 4 filled sleeping bags. A part of him said to make sure it wasn't a trick, but he didn’t want to wake them up if they really were sleeping, then he’d have four very tired kids begging him to bring them to Brazil with them. He figured even if they were trying to stowaway it wasn’t the most dangerous adventure they could come along for. 

He made himself and Panchito pancakes. They didn’t speak much; it was both too early and they were both preoccupied thinking about José. 

Donald and Panchito glanced at each other nervously as Launchpad came onto the plane still seemingly half asleep. “Don’t worry,” Launchpad said, “I’ve got my coffee.”

By the time they were in the air for almost an hour Donald was sufficiently awake. He pulled on Panchito’s sleeve to wake him up. Panchito pulled his sombrero down further to cover his eyes, “ _Aún no, Donaldo, cinco minutos más_.”

“What are the odds the kids stowed away in the cargo hold?” Donald took Panchito’s sombrero off him, putting it in his lap. 

Panchito shrugged, “I’d say half/half. They were pretty worried about Zé; and they don’t give up on adventure easy. Actually...they’re probably down there.”

Donald sighed, “That’s what I thought too. Well let’s go get them.” He got up and glanced back to Panchito, implying that he should come with him. 

Panchito put the sombrero back over his eyes, “You’ve got this right Donald? _Estoy cansado_.”

Donald rolled his eyes. He grabbed the front of Panchito’s jacket and pulled with all his strength. “This is a two man mission. What would Xandra say if she saw you napping on a mission?”

“Ah bringing her into this?” Panchito straightened his sombrero and crossed his arms over his chest, "She would not be surprised, but unhappy.” 

“Come on, be a parent,” Donald said pointing to the cargo hold. 

Panchito glared at him, “Fine.” He walked over towards the pile of boxes in the cargo hold, “Do you think they went with the one closest to the edge? So they could get out fast? Or farther in so we’d be less likely to find them?”

Donald shrugged and started kicking boxes. He stopped when he came across one that made muffled noises when he kicked it, “ _Kids_.”

Webby climbed out of the box, “Hi Uncle Donald, Tío Panchito. I’m sorry I just—I wanted to make sure Tio José was okay.”

“That’s very sweet of you Webby, but you shouldn’t have come,” Panchito said, “We don’t know what we’ll be dealing with on this trip and we want you to be safe.”

“Webbigail,” Donald said, crossing his arms over his chest, “Are the boys in there too?”

Webby blushed, “I didn’t want them to get in trouble too.” 

“Very noble.” Donald deadpanned, “But are they in the box?”

Webby nodded and opened the side even wider, “We’ve been found out, you can come out now.”

The boys crawled out of the box. They looked like they hadn’t slept at all, but they stood tall in front of their uncles. “Thanks for trying to stall Webs.” Louie said as he crawled out. 

“We have every right to be here,” Huey said, “He’s our uncle we want to know what’s going on.”

“We don’t want any more family secrets,” Dewey said. He knew bringing their mom into any conversation was risky. They still hardly ever talked about how she had gone missing or about her at all. But he figured it was worth the risk because he was right. Other than knowing José had been practicing magic as long as anyone had known him, the kids didn’t know why or who what extent. If he was going to die they wanted to know why and how. 

Donald and Panchito looked at each other and then the kids. After a moment Panchito spoke up, “Fine I will tell you what I know but it’s up to Tio Zé to tell you about it in detail. It is his story.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the bit of a wait for this chapter tbh I had intended on posting on a schedule but last week was really hectic between things I had to do with family and catching up with friends but I'll try to do better in the future :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panchito tells the kids a story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all I'm finally back on my bs and posting a new chapter 
> 
> I'd like to say I was busy with school or other things but tbh I just ran out of inspiration for a while and this hit me so I decided to continue it

"We were roommates together in college," Panchito started the story.

"Oh my god they were roommates," Webby said in a whisper. The boys laughed.

Panchito sighed, he didn't necessarily want to be interrupted by the kids every sentence, "Do you want to hear the story or no?"

"Sorry," the kids chorused.

He smiled and continued with the story, "We were roommates, and we get into all sorts of trouble together. More so than our other college classmates."

***

I arrived at a school in an entirely new country, with only a conversational understanding of the language; hoping my roommates would be understanding. I was there to improve my English and learn more about America. International students are similar to exchange students in some ways I guess. I got lucky that your uncles were my roommates.

Your Uncle Donald was the first one to get there, before I even made it to the school, he was completely unpacked. Della was there too, she always was our honorary 4th roommate. There more often than she wasn't, and her roommate was more than happy to have the place to herself. We think there was a mistake in the paperwork and Della was supposed to be our 3rd roommate, but somehow Zé got added to the list and we never complained enough for them to fix it. We were plenty happy for your Tio to be a part of our group. 

That first day l went up to them and introduced myself; Della thought it was exciting that her brother had an international student for a roommate. She talked to the two of us for hours on end. At the time I thought she was flirting with us but she was trying to get Donald to ask us on a date. It worked, but only much later. 

We clicked. We talked about music and food and we became better friends through it. Donald mentioned his song writing and I was the one who suggested we start a band. That was the beginning of Los Tres Amigos. Donald was the perfect roommate for me. I thought it couldn't get better than having this duck as my roommate, until Zé walked in the room.

He walked in with nothing but a suitcase, looking like he hadn't slept in weeks. He was in a normal t-shirt and jeans, but his suitcase had clearly seen better days. His feathers were ruffled and he had bags under his eyes. We assumed that he must have gotten sick right before moving in. We later found out he had traveled all the way from Brazil using his magic. Nonetheless he smiled warmly at us immediately, "I am José Carioca from Brazil." He said shaking and kissing every one of our hands. He was a bit of a flirt, but in a charming way.

***  
"Nothing's changed. He's still a reckless magician that can flirt his way into and out of trouble." Donald interrupted.

"But now he wears a snazzy suit," Dewey added.

Panchito ruffled Dewey's hair, "You're right."

 

***

We didn't think much about how he came in strangely. It didn't matter why he seemed to have little more than the clothes on his back, or why he'd seem so sleep deprived after a plane trip from Rio to Duckburg. We fell for him instantly and quickly became closer to each other as the days and weeks passed. We helped take him shopping to get supplies for our dorm that he clearly needed, and from there began talking. He also loved music and we found the third member of our band. 

But I'm not going to tell you the rest of the Three Caballeros origin story. 

Instead, one night we were playing cards when he pulled out the seemingly least offensive of his contraband: a candle. He didn't seem to have any matches on him but we knew Zé had plenty of tricks up his sleeve. 

"Want to see something cool?' He asked.

We agreed, almost before he finished the question. Though we spent almost every moment with José we honestly knew little about him, or his past in Brazil. 

We assumed he was going to do a magic trick or two with the candle and the cards, and in a way he did but not really the way we expected. 

He lit the candle with the snap of his fingers. (At first we thought it that was his trick.) Donald was worried the smoke would set off the alarm. But Ze manipulated it towards the other side of the room. Smiling, he asked, "What do you think _meu amigos_?"

"How'd you do that?" I asked, still under the impression that he was performing illusionist magic. 

José smiled, "Magic." He had a sparkle in his eye, like he was telling us his darkest secret. 

"But _how_?" Donald asked, glancing around the room for wires or fans that he could have been using. 

"I meant what I said, _magic_ but the real kind." He put out the candle with a flourish of his hand. 

Of course we thought it was amazing, I had never known magic, while your mother and uncle had always been forbidden from any magical knowledge outside of how to fight it. It became a learning experience for us all. 

He showed us how he could control it and form any kind of shape.

He told us his past through smoke magic. Building up the streets of Rio that he grew up on, having to con tourists out at enough money to buy a sandwich. He used magic to aid him in his exploits. His parents taught him how it was the only way for them to survive. Illusionist magic buys time while you pick pocket and steal.

He told us how some tricks were easier than others, manipulating smoke was easy compared to shrinking or growing an object, and transporting anything (especially yourself) was the most difficult. After a difficult trick he might have to slow down or take a nap. That's why he'd been so tired when he moved in, he used up almost all of his energy to get himself to Duckburg. 

***

"That's now this happened," Panchito gestured at Jose,"It was too much for him to connect through the Shadow Realm."

"He was being an idiot is what happened," Donald said, resting a hand on Jose's chest.

He stirred at the contact, and mumbled, "Talking about me?"

Donald smiled,"Only bad things. We'll be to Rio soon."

**Author's Note:**

> I have to be held accountable now don't I and actually finish a fic


End file.
